Assessment of External Costs And Emissions of Various Power Sources
One of the studies that I find a need to quote from on a regular basis is the ExternE study of life cycle costs and emissions that shows just how much (or how little) external costs can be attributed to the production of a kilowatt-hour of electricity from a whole range of fuel supplies and power systems including lignite, coal, natural gas, LNG, nuclear, wind, solar, and even those Amory Lovins favored “micropower” systems like small cogeneration plants fueled by diesel fuel or natural gas.
Unfortunately, I often have difficulty finding the link on the fly, so here it is:
Here is the project description:
The 2002-2004 project “Externalities of Energy: Extension of accounting framework and Policy Applications” (ExternE-Pol) had the following objectives: Improving, validating and extending the methodology of ExternE; Providing an assessment of new technologies for energy systems; Implementing the methodology in the accession countries of Eastern Europe; and, Creating a permanent internet site for ExternE.
Hat tip to Joffan, who posted the link in a recent discussion on the Colorado Independent.
